Three Ways to Make a Greener Home

1) How to make a greener home?
2) What is green living all about?
3) How to save energy?
4) Why should you draught proof your home?
5) What is one of the biggest energy drains in the home?

Making your home greener is not only better for the environment, but better for your bank balance too. As well as this, if you are a UK reader, then you can take advantage of numerous government run grants and programs that will help you make your home greener at little to no cost to you.

Photo Credits:http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontcallmeikke/3719297047/

1.) Loft and cavity wall insulation

Green living is all about energy efficiency. Heating up your home uses energy, so energy use is an Eco-cost. Saving energy is an Eco-plus. One way to save energy is to use less, and another way to save energy, making the energy that you do use last longer. Heat is like the gingerbread man: always running away! One way to keep the heat in the room is through insulation. Uninstalled walls act like fridges, constantly cooling a room down by being cold, storing cold and letting cold escape into the room. Insulation stops this using thick wool barriers which prevent cold air from getting in and hot air from escaping out. The difference is huge, and will save heating and energy costs significantly by the end of a year.

2.) Draught proof

Working on the same heat saving principles as in point number one, draught proofing is an excellent (and very cheap) way of keeping your home warmer for longer, thus reducing the need for more energy use. Common culprits are windows, doors and letter boxes all of which would benefit from draught proofing. Windows in particular are an area of concern, as even double and triple glazed windows will leak cold air in and hot air out, this often depends on the particular type of material or grade. Silicone in window, electrical tape in the winter and bubble wrap placed over the lower half of windows over the winter months have an insulating effect and heat up your home at a much faster and long lasting rate than with no insulation all at all. For doors and letter boxes, you can opt for fitted draught excluders which are relatively cheap and also easy to install, or you can put blankets, long teddies or something else on gaps to make sure cold air stays outside.

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3.) Energy efficient electrical

One of the biggest energy drains in the home is ancient, outdated electrical equipment that drink electricity like an elephant drinks water. Boilers are the number one culprits for this. Responsible for heating water and the home an out of date, non-energy efficient boiler can use up to twice as much energy as an energy efficient one. Not having a thermostat in the home is also a green no no, as your heating will stay in maximum power all day long. Other electric thieves are washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers and kettles all of which now have modern, energy efficient counterparts that will save you hundreds of pounds over the course of a single year and give you a green thumbs up from the Eco police.

Ben is a green expert and currently works for a tool hire company. He is often founding coming up with new ways to insulate his home.